Kanye West's Russia shows were cancelled after weeks of venue uncertainty.
Say Agency confirmed two planned St. Petersburg concerts will not proceed.
Gazprom Arena previously said no rental agreement had been signed.
Kanye West's Russia Shows Cancelled After Weeks Of Uncertainty Over Venue
The rapper, also known as Ye, was due to perform two concerts in St Petersburg, but organisers have now confirmed that the planned stadium appearances will not go ahead.
Summary
Kanye West's Russia shows have officially been cancelled after weeks of uncertainty over whether the rapper would be able to perform at the Gazprom Arena in St. Petersburg. The concerts had already faced questions about the venue before organisers confirmed that they could not proceed as planned.
Why Kanye West's Russia shows were cancelled
Concert organiser Say Agency confirmed the cancellation in a post on Telegram, saying the two shows would not take place on their scheduled dates. The agency wrote: "The Ye concerts in St. Petersburg will not be able to take place on the scheduled dates."
An official statement about the future of the project and the organisers' plans was also promised: "in the near future".
The uncertainty began in August when Gazprom Arena said it had not signed a rental agreement with the promoters. The venue therefore stated that the concert could not take place there. Say Agency subsequently said it was working to resolve the dispute before confirming that the shows could not go ahead.
The planned concerts also attracted criticism because of West's history of antisemitic and pro-Nazi remarks. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova had described the planned performances as unacceptable and pointed to what she called West's "glorification" of Hitler.
West previously apologised for his comments, saying he had "lost touch with reality" as a result of his bipolar disorder. He has not yet publicly commented on the cancellation.
When were the Russia concerts scheduled?
The Kanye West Russia shows had been scheduled for October 10 and 11, with both performances planned at the Gazprom Arena in St. Petersburg. The venue has a capacity of around 80,000 people.
The cancellation adds to several scrapped West's performances in recent years. His shows have also been cancelled in Poland, Italy and France. His planned headline appearance at London's Wireless Festival was cancelled after he was barred from entering the UK.
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West has continued performing elsewhere, including in Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands. His first major US concert in more than five years took place in Los Angeles in April.
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